Chicken shepherd’s pie

Chicken shepherd’s pie is a thick chicken and vegetable stew covered with a creamy potato crust. Normally shepherd’s pie is a meat pie made from lamb with a potato crust on the top and from there comes the origin of its name, as the shepherd herds the sheep. If the filling is made with beef, it is known as cottage pie.
In this recipe of chicken shepherd’s pie, chicken, carrots and peas are sauteed with leeks, sage and thyme, then stock is added with the mashed white beans and finally, it is topped with a thick, garlicky, tangy potato mixture and baked until it is browned. The potato mixture is made with mashed potato, garlic, herbs, djon mustard and yogurt. The crust is simply awesome and can be eaten on its own.
Normally in the chicken filling, flour is used for thickening but I have used mashed white beans instead, for nice and thick gravy. Cashews are also added in the filling to make it rich and give it a texture. The filling is fully loaded with the flavors of sage and thyme. Sage is warm, earthy and minty herb and is a perfect pairing with lemony thyme.
Chicken shepherd’s pie is comfort food and perfect meal in the winters and this recipe is pretty healthier than usual shepherds pie.

Chicken shepherd’s pie

Recipe by Neha NairCourse: MainDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Chicken shepherd’s pie is a thick chicken and vegetable stew covered with a creamy potato crust.

Ingredients

• For Potato Crust :-

• 1.3 lb of potatoes, boiled and peeled

• 1/2 cup of low-fat yogurt

• 2 large garlic cloves, grated

• 1 tsp of dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley or cilantro

• 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 cup of grated cheddar or swiss cheese (optional)

• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (optional)

• For Chicken Filling :-

• 3 leeks

• 3-4 green chillies or to taste

• 5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 5 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp of dried thyme

• 1 Tbsp of tomato paste

• 1 pound of skinless and boneless chicken cut into 1-inch pieces

• 2 carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• 1/2 cup of frozen green peas, thawed

• 1/2 cup of cooked white beans, mashed

• 1.5 cup of stock

• 1/4 cup of cashews, chopped

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• For Potato Crust :-
• Mash the potato well, then add yogurt, garlic, cilantro, mustard, salt and pepper and mix well. Keep this mixture aside.
• For Filling :-
• Remove the dark green parts of leeks and split vertically the white and pale green part of leek into half and rinse it well to remove the sands. Blot it dry and slice it thinly.
• Heat oil is a wide pan, then add leeks, chillies and saute until it is soft and reduced down a bit.
• Then add, garlic, sage, tomato paste and thyme and saute for a minute.
• Add in the chicken pieces, salt and pepper and let it cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
• Now add carrots, mashed beans and stock and let the mixture comes to slow boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked and the gravy is thick and creamy.
• Switch off the heat and add cashews, peas and mix well.
• Now take 9*9 inch of casserole dish and pour the chicken filling in it, then uniformly cover it with potato mixture and finally you can top the potato crust with either grated cheese or bread crumbs.
• Bake it at 420 F for 15-20 minutes or broil it low until the crust is browned. Chicken shepherd’s pie is done.

Notes

• Serve warm chicken shepherd’s pie with your choice of green salad.
• If you don’t have sage and thyme, you can use curry powder or garam masala in this recipe.
• If you don’t have cooked white bean, then you can use 2 Tbsp of flour and saute it with vegetables and then add in the stock for thickening.